Mobile Development

The Brightest Technological Ideas of 2012

Every beginning of a year there are thousands of lists trying to put together the highlights of the previous. This 2013 is no exception, and I’d like to use this space to highlight a New York Times article that came across my reading a few days ago. ThePogie Awards for the Brightest Ideas of 2012 is a compilation of what David Pogue considers to be last year’s great technological ideas.

I consider this article to be a good way of starting the year because it does definitely includes some nice and ingenious features and gadgets that made it to the stores during the previous year which curiously enough demonstrate the technological tendencies we are currently living, as most of them are smart phone related. And now you tell me, who does not care for his smart phone to be up to date and with the best features or apps in the market these days?

Some personal favorite ideas included in his article are the Bluetooth 4.0 which no longer consumes the power of your devices. The Do Not Disturb feature now available for some mobile devices; originally thought by Motorola but mass marketed by Apple in iOS6. And the Kid’s Cornerproposed in Windows Phone 8 software which hopefully will make it to other devices soon.

What I enjoyed about this article is the fact that it highlights the great ideas behind the products and not the products itself. But the fact that Pogue only talks about products that are only tangible to consumers is a letdown for me. In the consumer electronics what consumers see is what it has been in progress development for at least a couple years already, and without considering popularity or tangibility there were some bright ideas that became available in 2012 that I’d definitively add to the list, mainly because they show innovation and open new possibilities to mass market technology even if they haven’t been made fully commercially available. As an example, the Google Project Glass or the Lytro Camera which although in different development stages propose a new way of looking at things in the augmented reality and photography fields, respectively. Technology is constantly evolving and this applies to so many other work and study fields that we need to catch up quickly, especially those like me that are part of the technology business.

For now, just get hands on the article to read more of those bright ideas. You may find some good discoveries that will make your life easier, or perhaps you may even come up with some new ideas of your own that may be up to next year’s list.